


Coughing Fits

by daisybrien



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Blood, Death, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Major Illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2953973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisybrien/pseuds/daisybrien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi stands lamely in front of the bare curtains, fighting the urge to barge through them as he waits silently by the wall, watching as a medic finally makes his way to him. He hands Levi a pair of gloves and a mask, hard eyes boring into Levi’s over the paper covering his nose and mouth.</p>
<p>A firm voice sounds from behind the mask, the paper moving in and out over the medic’s face. “Put these on if you want to go inside,” he snaps. “You have ten minutes.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coughing Fits

Levi stares at her bed at the end of the medical ward, isolated from the two rows of beds running on either side of the corridor, crisp white curtains shielding her from the rest of the ward. He makes his way down the hall, passing mostly empty beds, few occupied by unfortunate soldiers still suffering after weeks from their last expedition.

He stands lamely in front of the bare curtains, fighting the urge to barge through them as he waits silently by the wall, watching as a medic finally makes his way to him. He hands Levi a pair of gloves and a mask, hard eyes boring into Levi’s over the paper covering his nose and mouth.

A firm voice sounds from behind the mask, the paper moving in and out over the medic’s face. “Put these on if you want to go inside,” he snaps. “You have ten minutes.”

He has no choice but to pull the mask over his face, sliding each finger into the proper holes in each glove under the harsh stare of the medic, slipping through the curtains once the medic approves. The hot, dirty air inside the screens slams into him, the smell of sweat and antiseptic seeping through the paper mask, burning in his nose. He becomes overwhelmed by the thought of germs and dirtiness, suppressing the urge to run to the nearest latrine and wash every inch of his body, barely keeping from organizing the disarray in front of him.

Hange lies in bed, the sheets crumpled and twisted by her feet. Sweat dots her forehead and neck, staining the underarms of her nightclothes, her skin gleaming in the dim candlelight. Dark half circles outline the bottom of her closed eyes like purple cruises. Her chest heaves with the effort of breathing, each inhale a rasping sound that grates in her lungs.

He sits on the edge of the bed, the cushion sinking beneath his weight, one gloved hand tracing her fingertips. Hange opens her eyes at the shift in the mattress.

“Levi?” Her voice is feeble, weak, breaking off into hacking coughs. They sound deep in her chest, strong enough to wrack her entire frame. She curls up on her side, one hand moving to shield her mouth with a dirty handkerchief. Bright red stains dot the fabric, spreading from where her lips press against it.

“Don’t talk,” Levi says, “you’re going to make it worse for yourself.”

Hange turns to lie on her back again, taking deep, heaving breaths. She closes her eyes again, arms twisting around her, body shivering. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see your sick ass.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” Hange continues, “I’m going to get you sick.” Choking coughs overpower her again, and Levi presses one hand to her back, steadying her. She’s shaking uncontrollably by the end of her coughing fit, and he untangles the sheets as best as he can, draping them over her. The red spots continue to grow on the soiled cloth.

“I’m wearing a mask.” Levi says.

“Well the mask is going to do jack shit,” Hange mumbles, voice muffled by the sheets tucked around her chin.

“Well that’s all I was given, so you’re going to have to deal with it.” His voice is stiff, awkwardly uneasy. They’re both silent for a moment, Hange’s gasping breath the only sound filling the quiet, humid air.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t die in battle,” Hange murmurs. “Shame I couldn’t have died doing something to help humanity.”

It is a shame, he thinks. It’s a shame she wouldn’t end up killed by the thing she loves in life, won’t be able to kick the bucket doing the very thing they’ve devoted their lives to. It’s a shame that she’s going to die without her usual force and liveliness, left confined on a dirty hospital bed by the very illness that sucked the lifeblood out of her.

“You’ve done enough,” Levi says solemnly. He slips a hand into one of hers, fingers intertwining, knuckles twisted and squeezing around each other in a tangled attempt at comfort. A slight moan emanates from her throat, a comforted sound almost bordering on painful before she turns over again.

He stays for almost half the night, disregarding the ten minute time limit he had been given, the few medics too preoccupied in more important tasks to remember him coming into the ward, let alone drag him out. His back aches as he sits at the edge of the mattress, watching the candle on the nightstand slowly sink downwards, growing shorter and shorter as the flickering flame continues to burn. Hange’s breathing slows as the night wears on, each gasp fading into soft wheezes, occasional coughing fits disturbing her from rest. Her body seems to sink into the mattress, the last bits of her energy melting as her muscles relax and grow still, her breath fading out by the time the moon has made itself comfortable high in the night sky.

Levi leans over her, fingers pushing back the hair plastered to her face. He pulls the mask down to his chin, pressing his chapped lips to her cold, clammy forehead in a chaste kiss before pulling the sheets up over her head. He blows out the candle, slipping out of the medical bay soundlessly with a lump lodged in his throat.

They burn the handkerchief along with her body.

**Author's Note:**

> This was something from levihan week a while ago. I read it again and thought that i could post it here. Will I ever let the two of them be happy? Who knows.


End file.
